University of Houston Athletics
Football Zeroes In On Fort Worth Bowl
12/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 16, 2005
HOUSTON - The University of Houston football continued to prepare for the upcoming Fort Worth Bowl with a strong workout in full pads under crisp conditions for slightly less than two hours Friday afternoon at the UH Athletics Complex.
Head coach Art Briles and the Cougars have been working this week on getting back up to game speed after the long layoff.
"It was a lively practice today, and I think the weather played a part in it," Briles said. "Our guys like practicing in the cold. I feel good about where we're at right now as a team."
Houston (6-5, 4-4 C-USA) will be making its second bowl appearance in the last three seasons. The Cougars are looking to break a lot of negative streaks in the Fort Worth Bowl against the Jayhawks. UH is 0-2 all-time against Kansas and has lost five consecutive bowl games dating back to the 1980 Garden State Bowl. The Cougars have also lost 18 straight games against teams from the Big XII going back to 1993.
"I looked on my back, and I can't see over it because there are a lot of things on it," Briles said. "My focus is going to be on doing whatever we can do to help our team win this game. We've got a good football team. We're an active team and a happy team that believes in each other. We're going to be a team that plays its butt off on December 23."
Kansas (6-5, 2-5 Big XII) has reeled off three wins in its last four games and will also be playing in its second bowl game in the last three seasons. The Jayhawks lost 56-26 to North Carolina State in the 2003 Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
KU boasts the No. 19 overall defense in the NCAA and is ranked No. 3 against the run giving up only 88.1 yards per game on the ground. Eight times this season the Jayhawks defense surrendered less than 100 yards to the opposition.
The Fort Worth Bowl can be seen live on ESPN. Gary Thorne will have the call with Ed Cunningham, while Dr. Jerry Punch will patrol the sidelines. The game can also be heard live on ESPN 790 AM with "The Voice of the Cougars", Tom Franklin calling the play-by-play action. Tony Fitzpatrick will provide color analysis and Chuck Brown will serve as the sideline reporter. The radio broadcast can also be heard on UHCougars.com
For ticket information, click on Bowl Central on the main page of UHCougars.com. There are several packages remaining that also include tickets to UH's basketball game earlier that afternoon in Denton against North Texas.
